Newcastle United vs Manchester United: United’s starting XI?

The reds travel north this Saturday to face Newcastle United in the Barclays Premier League. United go into the game following a spirited home draw in the week to Bayern Munich, with the second leg against the German giants looming on Wednesday. With the UEFA Champions League now undoubtedly United’s priority, David Moyes may well rest a few players ahead of the crunch trip to Germany.

Robin Van Persie will of course miss out on Saturday due to his long term knee injury but aside from this United are in pretty good health with Chris Smalling and Ryan Giggs being the only minor doubts head of the class at St James’s Park. Juan Mata should return to the squad after being cup tied for Tuesday’s game and Patrice Evra should also return after also missing the game against Bayern Munich due to suspension. With this all taken into account, here is the side the manager may pick for Saturday’s 3pm kick off:

Goalkeeper

The Spaniard David De Gea is again almost guaranteed to start. His form has been unquestionable lately and the manager will be unlikely to want to risk upsetting his rhythm ahead of Wednesday night’s huge game. United’s first choice keeper surprisingly had little to do against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

Defence

With Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic both starting on Tuesday night, the pair are both likely to be taken out the side and wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the return leg. Phil Jones should return to his favoured position at centre back after filling in at right back against the German’s and I would expect Jonny Evans to return to the side to partner him. Rafael should have recovered from injury so he is the main contender to start at right back; and I also expect Patrice Evra to return at left back to prove his worth ahead of Wednesday’s game where Buttner is favourite to start for me.

Midfield

Again, David Moyes is more than likely to have one mind on Wednesday when choosing his midfield. Ashley Young will more than likely get the nod in the wide right position and I expect Adnan Januzaj to get a rare start as of late by coming into the wide left position. As for central midfield, it wouldn’t be any surprise to see both Darren Fletcher and Tom Cleverley get starts after neither got any game time on Tuesday night. The Spaniard Juan Mata will then almost certainly come straight back into the side after being cup tied in Europe and I would predict he will be deployed in his favoured number ten role.

Attack

Although it is pivotal that Wayne Rooney is kept in tip top condition for Wednesday, history shows that the striker plays best when in a run of games and resting him isn’t necessarily the best option. As a result of this, I expect United’s top earner to start up top again with Juan Mata tucked in behind him.

Related Articles

After pre-season, Manchester United’s Belgian starlet didn’t look likely to feature in the first team in the coming season. However, he’s started in 3 of their 4 games and is United’s only Premier League […]

Thierry Henry, one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history, has spoken of his joy following fellow Frenchman, Anthony Martial’s, goal against Liverpool on Saturday. The Independent reported the legendary super striker as saying: […]

An active day in the media for Manchester United fans yesterday, as a legend leaves the stage – according to various media outlets, Rio Ferdinand has agreed a four year deal Queens Park Rangers, who […]

6 Comments

utd need to learn to play highly offensive. that back 4 stays solid…. give cleverley or fletcher the holding role and let those 5 run riot…. this should be the base of the new man utd.

if we want to be in the same league as barca madrid bayern…. we have to learn to dictate play. none of this holding off opponents attack…. attack them so damn much they dont get an opportunity to attack!

everyone believes fellaini failed defensively vs bayern… which i also do… but i also believe carrick did far to little to try and stop attacks and was left constantly chasing after them into our own box. which is proof that at best we only really need 1 holding midfielder!

allow a kagawa and mata to both play centrally, with 2 natural wingers, and an all out striker… and i swear bayern will not know what hit them… never mind newcastle. but with the second leg, i would push for both rooney and welbeck up top and just kagawa behind…. rooney can drop back for extra support to almost fulfill the mata role.

we need to be able to hit teams across the wings and thru the middle… not just one wing or only the middle…. thats why teams counter far to easily, no organisation or shape.

De Gea……………….now pick two……………maybe start Fletcher Fellaini…………..I like what I saw last time outfor Chicharito…he moved fast and passed fast……………saw som big and different skill sets Young and Valencia are working harder………….how quick can the middle and defense pass to a man quickly……….not just hit high upfield……..De Gea wastes a lot on his kicks upfield

I really want to see nani play moyes give nani another am sure he will prove you wrong and since rooney is injured I prefer hernandez in front
De gea
Rafeal,jones,evans,evra
Fletcher,cleverly
NANI,januzaj
Mata hernandez

RedMancunian is the number one source for Manchester United news, insight and opinion on the most successful football club in the English top flight. RedMancunian was founded at the end of the 2011/2012 football season. We hope to provide insight on football matters related to Manchester United and provides a sense of what the club was and is all about. Follow RedMancunian on Twitter - @RedMancunian

The RedMancunian website is strictly for informational and entertainment purposes, and is in no way affiliated with Manchester United Football Club or the Barclay's Premier League. It also claims no rights to the trademarks of MUFC, EPL, UCL & Europa.

The RedMancunian 'shield' logo is the intellectual property of Darren @thedevilstweets